Transcript For Strip 2029

Panel 1
Another side view of the asteroid against the stellar background.
Caption: The asteroid is mostly iron, with traces of zinc and gold, and a coating of carbon.
Caption: It is 65 meters long, an average of 16.2 meters thick. Call it 275,000 cubic meters.
Caption: It masses a bit more than 2 million tonnes.
Panel 2
Close-up on the trailing end of the asteroid. We can see the machinery embedded in it.
Caption: Suppose you wanted to accelerate this massive object to, say 9-tenths of light-speed.
Caption: You can start with a combination ion/gravity drive to get things started.
Caption: But this won't get you very far, or very fast.
Panel 3
Pull back a bit to show the asteroid approaching a black-hole which is noticeably closer now.
Caption: However, the universe provides. In this case, part of the solution is a medium-sized black-hole, in this case about 250 solar masses.
Caption: Guided by automated, on-board drives, the asteroid falls faster and faster toward the inescapable abyss.
Panel 4
The missile is now so close the black hole and its halo fill the panel.
Caption: Of course, if it continues on this path, and crosses the black-holes' Schwartzschild Radius, then the whole exercise would be rather pointless.
Caption: As if someone would go to the trouble of finding an almost pure-iron asteroid, attach some expensive gear to it, and send it into a black hole, pointlessly.

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